Stock analyst helped sun come up on an era
There is something in the nature of Joe Mansueto that refuses to be satisfied.
He wasn't satisfied as a stock analyst in the 1980s trying to get information about mutual funds. It was scattered in hundreds of places, and inaccessible to the average investor.
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
So he created Morningstar Inc. in his Chicago apartment, and made it the foremost brand for independent analysis of mutual funds. He broke down his research into a star rating for every fund, just as critics rate movies.
He published his research, stars and all, for the individual investor, then adapted it for financial advisers, reasoning that they had the same need for reliable, understandable information.
From there, it was on to stock analysis to bring the Morningstar standard to a field dominated by the conflicted loyalties of the investment banks. Mansueto took Morningstar into the fields of retirement and asset allocation advice and hedge fund research.
He made it a publicly traded company in 2005, a step that let some of his partners cash out of their positions. It also made him a rich man, landing him on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.
Mansueto, 51, owes that honor to the success of Morningstar stock. The shares were introduced at $18.50 each. They now top $73 and have gained more than 75 percent in the last 12 months. Morningstar's revenue and profits are growing at an annual rate of about 40 percent.
That performance alone justifies giving him this year's Visionary Award at tonight's annual celebration of innovation. But there's more to Mansueto than Morningstar's growth timeline.
There's a willingness to share credit, for one thing, and a modesty uncommon for a CEO.
"I may have gotten things started, but today we have a large number of people at Morningstar creating innovative solutions for investors," he said.
You won't find him grabbing outsized pay packages. Mansueto, who owns about two-thirds of Morningstar, takes a modest salary of $100,000 a year as chairman and chief executive, tying most of his compensation to the long-term health of the stock.
He has branched out as a publisher, fascinated by opportunity in advertising for a niche audience. In 2005, he bought Inc. and Fast Company magazines, and he is a partner in the Time Out Chicago entertainment paper.
Entrepreneurship, he said, is collaborative. "It's creative and challenging work, but ultimately very fulfilling when you create products that make a big difference in lives of many people," Mansueto said. "Plus, it's enormous fun when you work with a group of people you like and succeed in the marketplace."
The company employs about 1,600, and its operations spread across 19 countries. But with Mansueto at the helm, the culture still draws from his days in that old apartment.